Committed to tradition with visions for the future! GEHWOL has been awarded "Marke des Jahrhunderts" (Brand of the Century)

At the end of last year, the DIE ZEIT publishing group named GEHWOL the brand of the century in the foot care category. In its anniversary edition "German Standards - Brands of the Century," the publisher presents the exciting stories of the selected brands. The book premiered on February 11, 2022 in Berlin. What makes the award so special is that it is based on an intrinsic selection and evaluation process by a jury, with the jury members themselves selecting which brands to evaluate. "We are very pleased to receive this award. Our thanks go first and foremost to our employees and the podologists who tirelessly work for the well-being of our feet," says Timor Gerlach von Waldthausen, managing partner of Eduard Gerlach GmbH.

This success is based on tradition. The cornerstone of the cosmetic-pharmaceutical company was laid by Eduard Gerlach on November 25, 1868. The trained pharmacist took over his father's grocery store. He could see the increasing mobilization of society caused by industrialization. At the same time, longing for nature and the popularity of hiking were growing.

But there were almost no practical or affordable care products for battered feet. Comfortable leather shoes were not affordable for hikers for their leisure pursuits, nor for factory or farm workers for their jobs. The stress of everyday life with so much strain on the feet inspired Eduard Gerlach's pioneering work. He developed E. GERLACH'S PRESERVATIVE CREAM, the world's first industrially produced foot care cream, in 1882.

Start of a new era

Honored with numerous international awards, this product which consists of unsaturated fatty acids, essential oils, special medicinal soap and mineral lubricants made foot care affordable for everyone. It also made it practical, since the cream could be applied anywhere. In 1910, the son of the founder renamed the original worldwide foot care product into Gerlach's GEHWOL FUSSKREM. He registered the brand name GEHWOL as a trademark in the trademark register of the Imperial Patent Office.

A lot has happened since then. To this day, Eduard Gerlach still takes care of the wellbeing of people's feet in 56 countries. Its products are distributed through specialist retailers. The intent is to keep foot care as a professional consulting topic in podology and foot care practices, cosmetic studios and pharmacies. With the GEHWOL and GERLACH TECHNIK brands, foot professionals have a wide range of products at their disposal for all of their practice needs.

Distinguished brand

By honouring it as the brand of the century, the DIE ZEIT publishing group pays tribute to a success story that began more than 150 years ago. Together with other top brands, long-time editor Dr. Florian Langenscheidt presents GEHWOL in "German Standards - Brands of the Century".

The book was published in February of this year. On the event of its 20th anniversary, a modified selection process and new communication channels were introduced for this internationally acclaimed award. This led to cinematic brand portraits with Dr. Langenscheidt, podcasts and social media posts.

"For us, the award is something special. It shows that our consistent focus on quality and loyalty to specialists does not go unrecognized," says a delighted Timor Gerlach-von Waldthausen. The honour is part of a whole series of awards. The brand has already been honoured ten times with the Beauty Forum Award, and has been awarded Beauty Award special prizes for Highest Brand Distribution. The Beauty International Düsseldorf trade fair and, most recently, the Beauty Forum trade magazine praised GEHWOL Managing Director Jobst-Peter Gerlach-von Waldthausen for his life's work. The foot care specialist also received the German Brand Award for outstanding brand work in 2021.

But for Timor Gerlach-von Waldthausen, this is no reason to relax and put his feet up: "We have just moved into a new building that sets our course for the future. With state-of-the-art equipment and technologies, we will continue to produce high-quality products for the foreseeable future." However, this vision for the future doesn't merely aim for modernization. "Our philosophy remains part of it: Loyalty to specialists, closeness to nature, responsibility for people, the environment and the region," Gerlach-von Waldthausen explains.

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